TUCSON, AZ (CBS5/AP) - It's a race for Congress that the entire nation has been watching, and we now know who will fill Gabrielle Gifford's House seat.

Ron Barber, who worked as Giffords' aid and was injured in the Tucson shooting, is the winner of the District 8 race. He has about 52 percent of the votes; 86 percent of precincts have turned in their results.

This race determines who will be representing Tucson for the next six months in Washington, DC. Right now, Barber has more than a 7 percent lead over Jesse Kelly, who ran against Giffords in 2010 and narrowly lost. This race isn't only significant because he will be replacing Gabby Giffords, but political analysts have been saying it sets a stage for what may happen nationally in November.

Now that Barber comes out on top, the GOP will not be able to use Tucson as an example for voters wanting a change from the status quo. While we're told Kelly had a slight advantage because this is a special election, with typically a lower voter turnout, Barber still came out ahead.

He could have Giffords to thank, in part. Barber ran with Giffords' blessing and she has been campaigning on his behalf. Our cameras got video of her casting her ballot Tuesday in Tucson, and she and husband Mark Kelly joined Barber on stage after his victory had been called.

Barber and Giffords were both injured in the Tucson mass shooting in January of last year, when 23-year-old Jared Loughner allegedly opened fire at one of Giffords' events at a Tucson grocery store.

You think so? How would you explain Giffords election? Seems to me, a majority of the voters of that district have just created a pattern of electing Democrats to office. I think the proper answer is ...liberal vote.

4
posted on 06/13/2012 4:42:57 AM PDT
by Turbo Pig
(...to close with and destroy the enemy...)

My take, too. Let's hope Martha McSally, a retired USAF colonel with combat experience announces shortly for the fall election. She finished second to Jesse Kelly in the primary this spring, and was closing fast at the end. She'll give Barber a tough run in the fall, and could well reclaim the seat for the GOP.

7
posted on 06/13/2012 4:59:49 AM PDT
by Reo
(the 4th Estate is a 5th Column)

I was corrected. This District will change for the November election. But, yes they will have more Democrats than the old District had. The ‘Independent’ Redistricting Committee really screwed Republicans in Arizona.

I agree. Sympathy played a role in this since Guiffords and Barber survived the gun attack. The MSM saying that this is a precedent for November?? They are trying their hardest to forget what happened in Wisconsin last week which is more of a measure if you ask me.

I predict now that the conventional wisdom is that the dems won this district due to “Gabby Sympathy” that the Obama crew will drag her out on the Obama reelection campaign and give her a prime speaking spot at the convention, her recovery be damned. She will be forced to sit on the stage and nod and smile over every statement Obama makes, maybe even have to stumble through a few prepared statements of support.

“You think so? How would you explain Giffords election? Seems to me, a majority of the voters of that district have just created a pattern of electing Democrats to office. I think the proper answer is ...liberal vote. “

AZ suffered re-districting so the voters that originally elected her may be in other dists. But, that area is mostly lib. Add to that the “I feel soooooo sorry for her, I will vote for any dem because I believe the guy who shot her was prompted by republicans.”

Indeed. It seems heavily influenced by UA academic knotheads, Californians smart enough to get out of California but not smart enough to leave their politics behind and a big hispanic population with a strong aztlan streak.

Tucson's economy is in the proverbial sh**er. I was born and raised in Tucson, AZ. Moved away 5 years ago and will never go back. Just yesterday a former college called me asking if I have any work for him here in Houston, TX. Of course I do.

Tucson is a city run by Marxists if ever there was one. Raúl Grijalva, Gabby Giffords, etc. hate America and Arizona. They think it's romantic to embrace the backward culture existing just sixty-four miles to the south. That would be the Mexican culture. These communist dirtbags have, for as long as I have been alive (over 50 years) been trying to give the Gadsden Purchase back to Mexico.

I know... It sucks but praise be to God I was able to escape the repressive spiritual bondage that engulfs that once beautiful city. Honestly... The way these moonbats have been governing southern Arizona I'd just as soon let Mexico have Tucson. Take their dons with them.

MO

23
posted on 06/13/2012 6:10:50 AM PDT
by Whats-wrong-with-the-truth
(Romney (aka - obomney)... Just put the (D) behind your name and be done with it.)

Those who think it was all about a sympathy vote might want to think about what the GOP-E has done in District 8 in recent years...using money in the PRIMARY to try to get a moderate picked, and then refusing to support the conservative candidate. Pulling all support from Jesse Kelly in 2010 when he ran against Giffords, losing to her by 2%.

This:

“Former state lawmaker Pete Hershberger was one of a number of well-known Republicans who endorsed Barber over Kelly.

The citizens of District 8 recognized that Ron was a practical guy who would work across party lines to get stuff done, and Kelly was an ideological bomb-thrower, he said.

Another Republican who supported Barber, Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik, was blunt about the qualityor lack thereofof the GOP candidate.

“Kolbe is a leading moderate Republican...Like his mentor, Goldwater, he is pro-choice. He was generally more supportive of environmental legislation than most Republicans, especially those from the West. He is a member of various moderate Republican groups such as the Log Cabin Republicans, the Republican Main Street Partnership, the Republican Majority For Choice, Republicans for Choice, Republicans For Environmental Protection and It’s My Party Too. He is one of the four Republicans who voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act which was passed by the House of Representatives with 281-142 votes on October 2, 2003...

...In contrast, Kolbe was a strong supporter of guest worker programs for immigrants. Immigration is a hot-button issue in the 8th, which takes up about half of Arizona’s share of the Mexican border...

...Graf won the five-candidate primary on September 12, 2006. Kolbe refused to endorse Graf, who lost to Democrat Gabrielle Giffords in the November 2006 election....

...Kolbe came out as gay in August 1996 after his vote in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act spurred efforts by some gay rights activists to out him.[3] He won re-election that year. In 2000, he became the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention, although his speech did not address gay rights....”

Folks, this is NOT a conservative district, and the GOP-E here has no tolerance for anyone who is conservative. They HATE conservatives, and will not back a conservative who wins the nomination.

The GOP base in the district is conservative. Look at who wins the nominations. But in a general election, the GOP-E and ‘moderate’ republicans open support democrats over conservatives.

Redistricting will probably make the new district I’ll be in even more liberal. It is depressing, but the GOP base has virtually no chance of getting a good guy elected here.

It wasn’t a sympathy vote. It WAS evidence that this is a pretty liberal district - not in the outlying towns, but East Tucson and particularly Vail.

24
posted on 06/13/2012 6:12:52 AM PDT
by Mr Rogers
(A conservative can't please a liberal unless he jumps in front of a bus or off of a cliff)

You are right on. My son moved away and loves it. This place has massive traffic, doesn't light the streets in many neighborhoods, and is run by stupid Marxists elected by idiots. I see Obama stickers and shirts all over, even now. This clown won bigger than Giffords did. It is hopeless here, but the 2010 results didn't match the national trend. The press is full of crap as usual.

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